Tim Lincecum broke into the big leagues five years ago, at the Giants' ballpark on a sunny Sunday in May, just like this one.

Lincecum's first pitch that day was a 97-mph heater to Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins. The skinny kid with the strange delivery struck out the side.

Hello, big leagues, I'm Tim.

He also walked five that day in 4 1/3 innings, and gave up a pair of two-run homers, but there was a high-voltage positive buzz. Something special had arrived.

"He's got a great gift," general manager Brian Sabean said of his 22-year-old right-hander.

Fast forward to Sunday's game against the A's. Lincecum's first pitch was a strike, a 90-mph fastball. So 7 mph has disappeared since his debut, but that's merely a subplot to what's happening.

Lincecum struck out the side in the first inning, just like in his first game. He gave up no homers, and walked three instead of five. But the buzz this time wasn't about the gifted kid, it was about the troubled two-time Cy Young Award winner.

Sunday might have been the low point of the season for the Giants, even though they left town with a 2-1 series win over the A's. The house was packed with fired-up fans, the Giants had been playing well with their new semi-stable kiddie lineup, and they gave Lincecum a 2-0 lead. He whiffed five A's in the first three innings. Hope was in the air.

Then Lincecum blew up in the fourth inning, gave up four runs on four hits and two walks, and failed to back up third base on a throw from right field.

Four, by the way, is Lincecum's magic number. When he gives up four or more runs, he is 0-28 in his career (stat courtesy of Bill Arnold's Sports Features Group).

The Giants are at the quarter mark, and Lincecum is 2-4 and has pitched into the seventh inning only twice in nine starts.

You might expect the Giants and Lincecum to downplay this. No big deal, every pitcher has struggles, yada yada.

They are not downplaying it. There is concern about Lincecum's concentration - his mental process when he's on the mound - and his execution.

"Almost every game has been the same (for Lincecum) in terms of when he's had a bad inning, it's escalated," pitching coach Dave Righetti said. "He's letting some things get to him that he shouldn't. He should maintain his delivery and his poise (in pressure situations) and get outs, and he's not doing that.

"When he's getting into (sticky) situations, they're escalating, and that's something that can't happen, and he lets it affect his overall game and his persona and everything else. He's standing on the mound when base hits are in the outfield, not backing up bases. He's not doing what he's supposed to be doing."

Righetti has been down this road with Lincecum. The pitching coach was an amateur psychiatrist to Lincecum during a serious slump in August 2010, and we all remember how that season wound up for the Giants and their Timmy. Now it looks as if the coach and the pitcher are kind of back to Couch 1.

"There's no secret formula," Righetti said. "It's a tough delivery to maintain, but you can't go searching for more. If you do and you get out of whack, it's really tough to maintain. So we'll see what we can do to help him. That's my job."

Lincecum has been a stand-up guy in times of struggle. He generally opens himself up to the media and gives honest answers about how he's feeling and what's happening, even if what's happening isn't clear to him.

Is he maybe thinking too much?

"Yeah," Lincecum said, "but I've always been a thinker. And sometimes it can be too much. You try to come back to the chalkboard and figure out all these things that you've done, or are doing, and how you got out of 'em, and what you were thinking about when you were doing 'em (well), and sometimes it's easier just to go, 'Hey, it's simple, stupid,' and just go out there and kind of play like you're an idiot.

"I think that's kind of where I was at in my earlier days, where I was just kind of arrogant. I gotta get that back a little bit."

As far as the mysterious missing miles per hour, everyone around the team kind of plays that down. I think it's a significant issue, but what do I know? You'll learn that in Tuesday's Page 2 column.

Not according to form vs. Oakland

Before Sunday, Tim Lincecum was 5-2 with a 1.38 ERA in his career against the A's. Here's a look at how the Giants' right-hander had fared against Oakland prior to Sunday and what he did in the A's 6-2 victory: